A plasmon surface or plasmon interface is a collective excitation of electrons at an interface between a metal and a dielectric which absorbs all p-polarized light at its plasmon resonance frequency. P-polarized light is light with polarization in the plane tangent to the surface plasmon interface. The reflected light is the complementary color to the resonance. If a voltage is used to change the dielectric constant of a liquid crystal of a structure that includes a metal layer affixed to the liquid crystal, the light reflected from the plasmon interface will exhibit a color change. In the past, liquid crystal structures that incorporated plasmon surfaces were planar structures. However, a need exists for a structure that embodies a surface plasmon that may be configured over non-planar surfaces.
A spatially conformable tunable filter comprises a structure that includes a first flexible and optically reactive electrode; a second flexible and optically reactive electrode; a flexible electro-optic material layer affixed between the first and second electrodes and having a voltage dependent refractive index; and a voltage source connected to the first and second electrodes for establishing an electric field in the electro-optic material layer and dynamically controlling the index of refraction of the electro-optic material layer, wherein a section of said structure has an arcuate shaped neutral axis having a radius R when said structure is flexed, where 0 less than Rxe2x89xa6∞.
A method is described for receiving a light signal at a plasmon interface between a flexible first electrode and a flexible electro-optic material; applying a voltage potential across the first electrode and a flexible second electrode in contact with the electro-optic material; and modulating the voltage potential to change the optical absorption characteristics of the plasmon interface, where the first and second electrodes and the electro-optic material define a structure with an arcuate shaped neutral axis having a radius R, where 0 less than Rxe2x89xa6∞ when the structure is flexed.